


Hometown Halloween

by OfTheDunedain



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Carnival, Festivals, Friendship/Love, Gen, Halloween, Haunted Houses, Octome 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfTheDunedain/pseuds/OfTheDunedain
Summary: The cool autumn air was just different enough on this October day to send a charge racing along the nerves under your skin, and your spine pricked as the wind carried the sounds of screaming direct to your ears. Men, women, children—you could make out each amongst the cacophony carried in your direction, and you could not help the smile that spread over your lips.There you stood, abreast the Seven Rulers of Hell, with the orange, sunset-painted sky casting just enough light down to drip you in the shadow of the large sign arching over the road before you; you had been looking forward to this for weeks, and your voice had almost gone hoarse for the amount of pleading it had taken to get Lucifer to agree to this venture.Still, seeing the words “Hometown Halloween” painted in front of you, and hearing the sounds of the carnival revelry bleeding free from inside the gate was enough to immediately let you know this was totally worth it.--Octome 2020, Day 8: FestivalReader is gender-neutral!
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	Hometown Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> This is my answer for Day 8's challenge: Festival. I wanted it to be spooky since it's October, so I chose a Halloween carnival. 
> 
> This will likely be reworked and put in the larger ObeyMe fic I have on my page because honestly, it's just too fun. I love writing these demon boys, I guess!

The cool autumn air was just different enough on this October day to send a charge racing along the nerves under your skin, and your spine pricked as the wind carried the sounds of screaming direct to your ears. Men, women, _children_ —you could make out each amongst the cacophony carried in your direction, and you could not help the smile that spread over your lips.

There you stood, abreast the Seven Rulers of Hell, with the orange, sunset-painted sky casting just enough light down to drip you in the shadow of the large sign arching over the road before you; you had been looking forward to this for _weeks_ , and your voice had almost gone hoarse for the amount of pleading it had taken to get Lucifer to agree to this venture.

Still, seeing the words _“Hometown Halloween”_ painted in front of you, and hearing the sounds of the carnival revelry bleeding free from inside the gate was enough to immediately let you know this was _totally worth it._

“…Are you sure this is what you wanted?” That panther’s purr hummed beside you, and you flicked your eyes up to mark the way Lucifer eyed the crowds and rides in the closest thing to bewilderment as you imagined he could sport.

Eagerly you nodded, reaching to nick the tickets from his gloved hand. “Yup! Come on. You’ve all shown me the Devildom for the past few months—now it’s time for me to show you the best part of the human world!”

Satan frowned, his emerald eyes also casing the festival; his gaze held more study than outright shock, though you knew him well enough by now to note the halo of surprise in his expression. “The best part of the human realm was the Library of Alexandria,” he quipped to you. “This…is a bunch of rides.”

You laughed, grabbing his hand to bid him follow you. “Hey now, not just rides! There are going to be games, shows, and food too!”

“How much food?” A deep, eager voice interjected in question. Beelzebub was hot on your heels, and you could sense the rest of the brothers slowly following as well.

“This is a human festival, Beel,” Belphie hummed. “You can’t eat _everything_ , you know?”

“We can go out for burgers when we get back home to make sure you’re full,” you placated, turning to give the tall, broad shouldered demon a smile. “But there’s a surprise for you that _should_ make this more fun!”

The gloomy, grey clouds that had begun to spread across the redhead’s face began to clear a bit at your assertion, and his purple eyes widened faintly. “A surprise?” He pressed in question, though before you could offer any sort of answer, someone else was cutting in.

“Oi, why’re ya all crowdin’ around (Y/N), huh? If ya don’t wanna go to the festival, why not just head home? I’ll keep ’em company for ya!” Mammon’s words were punctuated by a decisive tug on your hand, ripping your hold away from Satan and instead drawing you nearer his side.

“(Y/N) invited all of us here, you know!” Asmodeus larked in counter. “You don’t get to hog them all night.”

The bickering was swelling behind you, though you had been in the company of the demons for long enough to learn how to tune it out; so, when the man at the gate asked for your tickets, you were able to hand them over with a smile. As the knobby, well-worn hands began to slowly tear all eight, Lucifer stepped up beside you. “Are you sure this is wise? You know my brothers can’t do anything besides cause trouble.”

“It’ll be fine,” you assured eagerly. “I’ve got the pacts! Besides,” you paused as the man handed your tickets back, nodding for the eight of you to pass inside. “I think you could really use a break.” It was not unusual for the Avatar of Pride to hole himself up with mountains of paperwork, and in a way his work ethic was one of the things that had made him so magnificent. Still, hearing he had not taken a day off in over five thousand years had been absolutely absurd; if _anyone_ needed this escape today to have some fun, it was Lucifer.

Still, the demon himself did not look so convinced.

“So what should we do first?” Belphie asked, eyeing the flashing lights with sleepy interest.

“Well, we could—” You began, only to feel Mammon’s hand clamp tighter around your wrist.

“What’s _that_?” He asked, pointing to the large structure at the end of the lane. Screams were filtering out from inside, and even in the warm glow of the setting sun, the strobes in the windows made it look like there was a lightning storm settled in overhead. 

“Oh, that’s a haunted house,” you explained.

Satan’s brow lifted. “Humans actually capture spirits for these?”

He was clearly impressed, and it felt somehow cruel to correct him. “Um…no,” you assured. “It’s not actually haunted.”

“But people are screaming,” Leviathan interjected, and as if on cue a loud shriek ripped through the air. The demons looked perplexed to say the least, though whether it was because a haunted house here _did not_ have any ghosts, or because everyone walking by was ignoring the sounds of terror leaking from the attraction, you could not say.

“I don’t really like doing them myself because there are people in costume inside to do jump scares, and stuff like that, but lots of humans love them,” you answered with a weak shrug. “They’re built to be scary.”

Lucifer chuckled, the sound enough to send a shiver down your spine. “Is that all it takes to scare you? How quaint.”

Your cheeks flushed, the pressing weight of embarrassment for both yourself and the human race as a whole making you feel warm. “It taps in to the fight or flight instinct, we…can’t help it.” Still, Lucifer marked you with his red eyes, the gleam upon his face enough for you to know he very well _did_ think that was adorable in that sadistic way of his.

Though, likely, thousand year old demons probably would not find anything any mortal could create scary themselves, so the likelihood they sympathized with your own alarm was small to begin with.

Mammon’s blue eyes widened as he turned to look at you. “Wait, are you sayin’ that dumb house is enough to scare _you_?”

“I didn’t bring you here for the seven of you to make fun of me,” you decided to deflect, a pert frown turning your lips down at the edges. You felt a large hand pat your shoulder, Beel’s bright face offering a smile to you in encouragement.

“It’s all right, we don’t have to do it,” he assured you.

“I would imagine the haunted houses back in the Devildom are better anyway,” Leviathan agreed.

Mammon scoffed. “Nuh-uh, no way. We’re goin’ in there right now. C’mon, (Y/N)! It’s time to face your fears! The Great Mammon’ll make sure you’re safe, so ya don’t haveta be afraid of nothin’!”

He was already moving off, dragging you along as if you were little more than a disobedient puppy, and no matter how hard you tried to dig in your heels, you found yourself unable to stop him. “Mammon! I don’t want to—”

“Ya trust me, don’t ya, (Y/N)?” The white-haired demon asked, looking over his shoulder. Maybe it was the confident, crooked smile that had easily spread across his lips that made you bite back your words, or maybe it was the fact that you had spent the last few months living with some of the toughest demons around that did it. Either way, that pause was enough for Mammon to press his advantage, and he prodded you right up to the house’s entrance. “You’re my human, ya know? I can’t have my human bein’ scared of dumb stuff like this. What would people say?”

You frowned indignantly. “That’s really not a great reason, you know,” you grumbled under your breath.

“I must say I’m curious about what’s inside,” Satan hummed. After a moment he turned and smiled at you, the warmth of his face pleasant—perhaps _extra_ so because of his proximity to the dark, dingy haunted house. “You know, the best way to overcome fear is to learn it isn’t as scary as you thought.”

“But,” you began. A part of you wanted to point out that growing accustomed to scary things was actually not useful since it would mess with your natural, evolutionary ability to react and discern troublesome situations, but the blond did not give you a chance to finish.

“If it gets to be too much, I’ll use a spell to numb your senses until we’re out,” he offered.

“Tch. You’re gonna be walkin’ in there with real demons—what’s scarier than me, ya know?” Mammon offered impatiently.

You slid your eyes to him, an almost deadpanned look upon your face. What was scarier than Mammon? Like, ninety-nine percent of the Devildom! Still, you only needed to utter one. “Lucifer.”

That brought a smirk to the black-haired demon’s face, and the Avatar of Pride beamed at you in his own, dark way. “And I won’t let anything happen to you,” he offered silkily.

You kneaded your lips together, casting a look up at the large, foreboding structure before looking once more to the eager, confident faces around you. Well, if Satan was willing to cast a spell if you got overwhelmed, maybe it would not be so bad—and Mammon was _technically_ right. What could possibly be inside that was scarier than your own companions? “…All right,” you murmured. “Let’s go.”

Your grip on Mammon’s was like a vice, and your steps grew smaller the further inside you tread. It did not take long before whatever light was still lingering outside faded away to nothing, and all you were left with was the blotchy, red-tinged mood lights to see. You could hear your own heartbeat, and your breath grew shallow as dread seeped in; the jump scares were coming. You knew, and yet you knew also there was nothing you could do to prepare for it. The hallway was definitely giving you grungy, post-apocalyptic vibes, and ahead you could see a white light flickering from a side room.

“This is like a low-budget version of that horror game I just finished,” Levi remarked, eyes bouncing around to take the ambience in. “It was called _Contagion Unleashed: Humanity is Doomed_. It was about a virus that got out of a lab and turned the world into a massive horde of zombies!”

 _Zombies_? Your heart clenched. Was that this year’s haunted house theme? It seemed like a cruel joke; of all the horrific things in all of horror, _they_ were the worst for you. You must have made a small noise in the back of your throat, because Mammon looked at you.

“Pffft, don’t tell me you’re scared!” He quipped.

Your answer was strangled from your lips, though, when a loud, resounding _bang_ shot through the quiet. You yelped, startling in your own skin—and you were not the only one. Mammon’s fingers near crushed your hand as he squeezed and jolted, blue eyes flying down the corridor to spy a single, solitary shadow darting from one side of the hall to the other.

“What the hell was _that_?!” He demanded.

“Scared already, Mammon?” Asmo hummed, the grin upon his features as amused as it felt dangerous; you had not often considered Asmodeus to be one of the more frightening of the brothers you kept company with, but there in the dark he certainly looked the part of a powerful demon.

“N-no, of course not!” Mammon huffed, though his grip on you was still iron tight. “Just, ya can tell the humans worked really hard on this, is all—seems only right to play along.”

You felt someone move to stand beside you, and the light chuckle you heard filtering in their wake told you it was Satan before you even looked. “You all right, (Y/N)?” He hummed to you, tone gentle and quiet.

“Don’t know yet,” you admitted with a wry smile.

“Just remember—nothing in this place is scarier than us,” the Avatar of Wrath smiled. You nodded as the group once more pressed forward, though felt your stomach knot regardless; the room with the flickering light was growing nearer, and so was the spot where the shady figure had rushed by before.

You dared to peek inside when you passed by the room with the strobed light. Golden sparks were raining from busted electrical wiring, and the lights were flickering, for moments at a time illuminating what was definitely designed to be a ransacked science lab with lots and _lots_ of fake blood. You gulped.

“Ugh, seriously? Faaaaaake,” Levi declared.

You tried not to think about the fact it looked pretty real to you, or the fact that Levi could recognize that this was fake likely meant he knew what it would look like if it were real.

“Yeah, of course it is. C’mon, (Y/N), let’s keep walkin’.” Mammon was tugging you along, perhaps eager to leave the side room behind, though you found yourself less eager to comply.

“Mammon, slow down,” you pleaded. Maybe getting through in one quick sweep was an okay idea in theory, but the thought of barreling into the next scare zone made you feel antsy at best.

The Avatar of Greed scoffed. “For what? The Great Mammon’s bored of this dumb place. I wanna hurry and get—”

 _Bang_. _Rattle. Clank._

Mammon’s blue eyes widened, and his steps stilled completely. “What…what was that?” He inquired; even you could hear the waver in his voice.

“Oh, that would be the zombies behind those bars there!” Asmo chirped, pointing ahead. You could not help yourself but follow his prompt, dread bubbling in your chest along the way. Between the banging of their hands on the metal cage they were in, and the low, haunting moans the zombies were offering, your urge to step forward completely vanished, and you stumbled back into a large, firm chest.

“T-that ain’t scary,” Mammon declared. Still, there was a tremble that rocked through his fingers, and even through your own unease, you could feel it. “It’s just a buncha humans in costumes, ya know.”

The whole cage rocked as the zombies inside clamored for you and your group, and Mammon shrieked, the sound vaulting off the long, dark corridor with ease. You, too, cried out, though before the sound had even finished fading from air, your hand had been released, and Mammon was little more than a white-haired blur racing down the hall.

“Woooow. And he’s the second strongest of all of us,” Levi remarked with a tut, shaking his head.

The strong chest you had backed into now moved around you, and Beel reached to take your hand into his. “Come on, (Y/N). We can get through this all together,” he offered to you as he smiled.

You felt Satan’s hand slide into your other, the gentle reassuring squeeze enough to convince your legs to move. “All right,” you agreed with a nod. Maybe it was because both of your hands were so warm now, but it seemed easier to make your way through the dark.

“Look,” Satan whispered to you, motioning with a nod toward the cage of monsters. “The zombie in the back’s makeup is coming off,” he grinned devilishly, green eyes glinting.

“Really?” You found yourself whispering back, unable to resist the urge to follow his direction. Sure enough, the greenish-hued paint seemed to have been haphazardly applied; it was enough that even with the rest of the ambience, you snorted a small laugh. “I guess it was a rough day even for the zombie apocalypse,” you hummed. The fear you had felt began to ebb, and your stride became a shade more natural.

Satan smiled encouragingly, shifting his attention back down the hall. “Ah. Something’s going to drop down up ahead. Do you see the trap door?”

You squinted against the dimness, though vaguely _could_ begin to see the faint outline some ten feet ahead. “Oh, yeah,” you remarked.

“Hmm. They keep asking for brains. Now I want Quetzalcoatl brain soup,” Beel lamented in a low rumble.

“Oh, that sounds good,” Belphie agreed sleepily.

You bubbled up in laughter, fingers tightening around the Avatar of Gluttony’s. Suddenly, getting out of this haunted house seemed entirely doable. “We can get you a snack when we get out,” you offered. “But…we should probably go find Mammon first.”

\--

By the time you had finished the haunted house, Satan had debunked nearly all of the set’s mechanisms for you, and Beelzebub had turned roughly eighty percent of the jump scares into comments about food. The sun was gone from the sky overhead, a velvety blue-black canopy now spreading out above you. The large harvest moon bathed the whole of the world in silver, and with its help—and the help of the lighting from the actual festival—you could make out Mammon’s white head pacing back and forth not even thirty feet from the exit.

“Mammon!” You called.

Immediately the demon turned, and he near jogged back up to meet you. “What took ya so long?! I was startin’ to think ya got eatin’ or somethin’,” he huffed irritably.

“Honestly, Mammon. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You’re supposed to be one of the toughest demons in the Devildom,” Asmodeus hummed, a delicate frown carved upon his fine features.

The scowl on the second born’s face was comical to say the least, and you bit back a laugh as the rebuttal began to bloom on his lips. “Oi, shut up, Asmo! I wasn’t scared of no haunted house, okay? I was just bored. It takes more than that to keep The Great Mammon entertained!”

“Oh, is that what boredom looks like?” Lucifer purred in question.

Hurriedly, you waved your hands, hoping such a motion of supplication and entreat could still this particular row before it had a chance to get going. “Hey, hey! We’re here to have fun! So what do you say to some food and games next?”

Two demons in particular perked up at _that._

“Pfft, this place is going to have a bunch of normie games,” Levi huffed, though his orange-gold eyes flicked to you eagerly. “But, uh, I guess I could show them how a real gaming master does things.”

You smiled. “You know, you can win a goldfish at the ring toss one we passed.”

Leviathan’s eyes widened. “For real? I wonder what Henry would think if I brought him home a friend? LOL. I could name him Lord of Shadows! They could be best friends.” With that, the Avatar of Envy was the first to set off, though the rest of you began to follow quickly.

The festival had definitely gotten busier in the time you had been trekking through the haunted house; it was slow going, weaving through the patrons and up the lanes—not that you particularly minded. It gave you a chance to check out some of the costumes you could see. A toddler in a stroller decked out with that fake webbing was sporting a rather cute spider costume, and you saw a couple getting off the tilt-o-whirl dressed as matching scarecrows. However, when you saw the child running your direction clad in red with fake horns and a pointed tail you let out a quiet snort.

Lucifer’s eye seemed to catch that one, too, and he watched as the child raced by, squealing and shouting to his parents about the candy he had gotten from the station ahead. “I recognize some of these,” he began. “But what was _that_?”

The curious look he gave you turned your snort turned into a small laugh. “That’s a demon costume,” you explained with a smirk.

The surprised, blank look upon his face was totally, one hundred percent worth it.

“Oh! Here’s the ring toss!” Levi exclaimed, darting off to the side. “I’m totally going to win Henry a friend!”

You turned to the others. “I’ll be right back,” you told them, reaching to grab Beelzebub’s hand and tug him after you. “C’mon, Belphie! I want to get Beel a treat before we get too sidetracked with the games.”

If the demons wanted to protest, they did not have a chance to, and you quickly darted ahead toward a small kiosk beneath the Jack-O-Latern sign. The worker there, dressed in simple black clothing with a funny witch’s hat, smiled seeing you approach. “Hello! Here to join the fun?”

“Hi,” you answered, smiling and pulling a few bills from your wallet. “Yes, we’ll take two buckets, please!” Beside you, you could make out Beelzebub’s frown, though he said nothing in question as you handed an empty plastic pumpkin to both he and his twin with sparkling eyes.

“Now you both enjoy! Anywhere you see a Jack-O-Lantern like this,” the worker pointed to the drawing above his head, “it’s a trick-or-treat station! Have fun, and Happy Halloween!”

“Thank you!” You trilled, waving as you began to usher Beelzebub and Belphegor back down the way. Belphie, though, was eyeing the plastic pumpkins clutched in his and his brother’s hands in clear confusion.

“Aren’t these for kids?” He finally asked, marking a few more of the children as they ran by with buckets of their own. “I don’t see any adults walking around with these.”

“Hey now,” you declared, “this is also for the kids at heart!”

Amethyst eyes narrowed down at you, clearly trying to decide how much trust was due. “I thought you said this was a treat for Beel?” Belphie questioned next. This time the orange-haired giant turned to you as well.

Their puzzlement was fair enough, you supposed; it was not like Beelzebub was the Avatar of cheap plastic bins. “It is! I promise. This is for trick-or-treating!” You motioned to the bucket. “You guys are going to take these, and every time you see one of those signs, you’re going to tell them _‘trick or treat’_ , and they’re going to put candy in it.”

Beel’s look of surprise was as close to precious as one could get, nearly childlike in its wonder. “That’s all we have to say, and they give us candy?”

“Yup, that’s all you have to say! Think of it like a human ritual that only can happen around Halloween,” you laughed.

“That seems like such a hassle,” Belphie sighed, looking down at his bucket.

“If you do it with him, Beel gets two times the candy,” you offered, giving the slender demon a nudge with your elbow. “When you guys are done, I’ll take you on the hayride, Belphie! It’s probably a great spot for a nap.”

He chuckled, smiling to you with a joyful expression that was reminiscent of his twin’s. “So I get a treat too?”

You nodded in answer.

“All right then. I’ll go with Beel to get his candy and try to make sure he doesn’t tear the place down in the process,” Belphie hummed.

You grinned. “I’ll go see if Levi’s won his fish yet.” And with that, the three of you parted ways.

It had not been that long since you stepped away, but by the time you had made your way back to where you had left your demons, you could not see them at the booth. Your steps fell to a halt there in the center of the way, eyes casing about hoping for any familiar tuft of hair or back, though found nothing. “Crap,” you mumbled to yourself, willing your feet to pick up their paces again. The thick crowd was making it as hard to see as it was to move, though you merely ducked and tiptoed to continue your search as you pushed your way through the throng of people in the lane.

Finally, you heard a familiar laugh. “You know, Levi got his fish with no problem.” Asmo’s jovial tone helped you adjust your course, and between muttered _“excuse me”_ s as you passed between families, you pressed on.

“Shuddup, Asmo! That black cat won’t win itself, and I’m finally gettin’ the hang of it!” Mammon snapped back.

“You don’t even want the cat toy,” Levi declared.

“Satan wants it, so I’ll get it for ’im!”

“But these things are rigged, Mammon,” Asmo sighed. “Nobody is getting that cat.”

You burst through the crowd, gasping out an _“I’m back”_ , though it seemed the demons were hardly paying you any mind. Hanging over the target game you could see a large black cat plush—likely the one in question—and a pile of ammo beside Mammon’s toy gun that hinted at the vast amount of money he had _already_ funneled into this venture.

Levi was working away on his phone, his newly acquired fish cradled in his arm, while Asmo and Satan crowded around the Avatar of Greed with amused expressions. It was Lucifer who noticed you first, and the way his eyes flickered beyond your shoulder let you know he was surprised to not see Beel or Belphie with you. You moved to stand beside him, giving him a reassuring smile. “I sent them trick-or-treating,” you explained.

Lucifer quirked an eyebrow, though said nothing in response.

“All right! This time for sure!” Mammon declared. It was exuberant enough that he was able to draw you and Lucifer’s eye back to the issue at hand, and you laughed slightly as Mammon hunched down over the toy gun and took a deep, steadying breath as if to hone his aim.

“He’s dead set on getting that cat, huh?” You remarked lowly.

“It appears so,” Lucifer answered.

 _Pop_.

Mammon’s shot was a glorious miss, and while Asmo and Levi began to howl in laughter, chronicling the event on their D.D.D.’s for easy Devilgram access, Satan seemed a shade disappointed. “That was just a trail shot, I know what I’m doin’ now,” Mammon grunted.

His doggedness was charming.

Beside you, Lucifer shifted, and you almost missed the way his fingers moved as Mammon took his next shot. _This_ time the red balloon at the center of the targets exploded with a shower of rainbow confetti, and the stall keeper seemed even more surprised than the brothers that it had worked.

“Aha! Told ya I could do it!” Mammon sniffed proudly.

You, though, narrowed your eyes at Lucifer in amused suspicion. “Was that you?” You asked.

The Avatar of Pride merely smirked at you in response.

The cat was handed over, and Satan seemed pleased enough. You were fairly certain he was going to ask you to carry it—it was, after all, a _slight_ blow to his demonic pride to be caught with such a large stuffed animal—so you reached out your hands to relieve him of the task of asking. His smile was brilliant to say the least, and he absolutely took you up on your offer.

“Come on,” you hummed. “There are some fun rides this way!”

And so, you set off again.

Things were even going fine—at least until you passed an attraction called _Satan’s Labyrinth_. The name alone had caused Levi to make a comment, and as you eyed the maze, and the large latex display of what was a movie-style demon conjuring, you felt a certain Avatar of Wrath fall still beside you.

“Look how ugly he is! LOLOLOL,” Leviathan laughed, pointing to the great, reddish demon in the middle of some stereotypical looking witches. “Hey, Satan! You have your own maze!”

“Ugh,” Asmo cringed. “It’s hideous. I can’t believe that’s what the humans think you look like, Satan.”

“…What do you mean that’s supposed to be me?” Satan asked, eyeing the rather grotesque latex prop rising from a fake summoning circle.

Worriedly, you kneaded your lips together, glances bouncing from the demon at your side to the display by the maze’s entrance as your heartrate increased. “Well…” Actually, you were not sure what you were going to say; you, too, would have been offended if that horrifying, disgusting thing was meant to be you.

“That looks nothing like me!” Satan declared, brow immediately bending in a frown. “And with that many witches?! That’s definitely Mammon’s thing!” He turned, green eyes finding you in what you could only think of as desperation. “That looks nothing like me, right?”

“Of course it doesn’t,” you assured. “Humans just…don’t know what you look like, so they make up something scary.”

“It’s not even scary, it’s just ugly,” Satan grunted grumpily.

You smiled somewhat, hearing the endearingly petulant whine in his tone. “You know, most humans would be very surprised to know you’re so handsome, Satan.”

His cheeks dusted pink, and his eyes darted away from you as if unable to bear the sight of you. “…Were you?” He asked quietly. “I mean, you think I’m handsome?”

Your smile widened. “Of course,” you assured. The pink of his cheeks darkened, and you gave a small laugh. “You should be happy it’s such a well kept secret, though,” you added. “If everyone knew _you_ were who they would get when they summoned you, you’d probably be called on way more often. You’d never have time to read!”

Satan finally laughed. “You have a point.”

“Now come on,” you declared, urgently herding the demons onward. “There’s a lot of festival yet to do!”

\--

A few hours had passed; everyone had run off to do their own thing, and the moon was crawling higher as the final band of the night took to the event stage. You imagined Belphegor and Beelzebub were heading for a second round of trick-or-treating, and you doubted that Satan had moved too far from the cat rescue adoption set up over by the hayride. Leviathan and Mammon you could see ahead, standing in the crowd and awaiting the music, Asmodeus snapping selfies with them to upload to Devilgram in real time.

You had sneaked away to find a single treat of your own, the large bag of cotton candy clasped in your hands already slowly disappearing into your mouth, but your eyes were scanning for the last of your motley crew. You caught sight of Lucifer leaning against an empty stall, arms crossed as his red eyes marked his brothers antics from a safe, unnoticed distance. It was not often that you saw such a gentle expression upon his face, but the smile he wore held less of its usual darkness and brought to mind something much warmer. Smiling to yourself, you crossed over, hoping you could school your lips back into submission to hide the expression before you got too near. Surely the Avatar of Pride would not want you to see him like this.

“Hey,” you called calmly.

Sure enough, the demon stiffened, looking to you quickly as he fought down his softer countenance and hid it beneath that same cool mask that he usually wore. “Ah, (Y/N),” he greeted in turn. His red eyes fell to the pink, sugary cloud you carried in your hands, a small furrow rising on his brow. “What’s that?”

“Cotton candy,” you explained, extending the bag to him. “Try some. It’s sweet.”

Hesitantly he complied, and you had to admit that watching one of the strongest demons in existence _carefully_ nibble on a sweet was more amusing than it had a right to be. Still, you made sure to keep such signs from your own face. “It melts in your mouth,” Lucifer observed in surprise.

“Mmhmm,” you agreed. “There’s not much to it, but I only get to have it when I come to a festival like this.”

For a moment silence passed between you. Over on the stage, the band began to pick up their set, and as the crowd erupted into cheers—Asmo still snapping selfies all the while—you found that there was something about the evening that felt peaceful and right. You turned to give Lucifer a large smile. “I wanted to thank you for making it possible to come out here,” you said.

Lucifer eyed you, the tight coil of his lips almost devoid of warmth, as if he wanted to look _cool_ rather than _touched_ by your sincerity. “Oh? Well, I must say, it was an amusing evening.”

“I’m glad you thought so,” you laughed. “The person I think who deserved this break the most is you, so it makes me happy to know you had a good time.”

Lucifer stiffened, and you could _almost_ convince yourself the subtle widening of his eye was but a trick of the mind; still, he eyed you with a thoughtful frown, and you were absolutely sure he had been somewhat taken aback by your comment regardless of his efforts to appear collected. “I can handle my workload, you know,” he hummed in that dark, velvety timbre.

“I know,” you agreed. “But the people who can handle the most deserve the time to relax the most as well.”

Lucifer chuckled. “If I was truly going to relax, I’d need a place away from my brothers.”

You laughed, extending the bag of cotton candy to him once more, watching as his gloved hand slipped inside to pluck more to eat. “I told you I’d keep them in line today!”

“Hmm,” Lucifer hummed. “You certainly did.”

The band was beginning to play, the sound of the electric guitar coasting over the din of the festival as the drums hammered out a steady heartbeat for the night. You felt yourself relax, sinking deeper against the abandoned stand beside the Avatar of Pride. Soon it would be back to the Devildom, to the warmer air and strange sky. This evening back in the human realm? You had every intention of soaking it in for all it was worth.

Even Lucifer, settled beside you, seemed to be more relaxed than normal, and for some reason that made the whole day seem all the better.

“Lucifer?”

“Yes, (Y/N)?”

“…Let’s do this again some time.”

You felt the demon smile, a faint rumbling chuckle bubbling up from his chest. “As you wish.” 


End file.
